Withycombe colts put in a terrific effort before being edged out 31-21 in a friendly match at Topsham.

The home side struck first with a converted try and that set the tone for a dominant first half for the hosts.

Despite some outstanding defensive work, the Withy line was breached twice more before the break leaving the Tops leading 21-0 at half-time.

It got even worse for Withy early in the second half as they conceded a try in the corner, but, undaunted, the visitors dug deep and when Saunders made an interception he broke free, showed the chasing players a clean set of heels and raced to the line.

Jason Farrant tucked away the conversion and not only were Withy on the score board, but their spirits were lifted.

Soon after the restart, Withy conceded a scrum, but the ball was turned over and Cameron Bennett broke the Topsham line. Powering forward he began an attack with Farrant.

Passing between themselves, thwarting attempts to stop them, Bennett timed the last pass to perfection and Farrant was able to find the gap to score to make it 26-14. Soon after, Withy captain Luke Davis and Ben Dawson exchanged several passes until Dawson took the ball under the posts to score, giving Farrant a good position to convert and bring the score to 26-21. Sadly, that was the end of the Withy scoring and a late Topsham try rounded off the scoring. Withy, for whom Cameron Bennett impressed with his tackling and driving forward, contributed plenty to a fine game and the all-round performance augers well for the team playing in their first year at this level.